Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has presented her budget for the city of Chicago which closes Chicago’s nearly $1 billion deficit. The Trib reports:
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot offered an $11.65 billion budget plan for 2020 on Wednesday, laying out a path to dig the city out of a daunting $838 million deficit without relying on steep property tax increases.
Lightfoot’s plan hinges on getting help from the General Assembly, which enters its fall veto session next week.
This is basically a “Hail Mary”. To the best of my knowledge the state has never ponied up money for Chicago unless it was sued for it.
The new taxes she’s proposing as well as the ones have been left unstated fall most heavily on the poor. Expect the exodus from Chicago to accelerate. Just in time for the decennial census.
If you go back to the cow too many times, it eventually runs dry. That’s true of cash cows, too.
Not only that:
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/chicagos-death-spiral-theres-no-can-left-kick
And look past the usual portrayal of woe. Look at the last two graphics, and acknowledgement that despite the usual blather, they know who can and will be expected to pay. After all, you can’t get blood from a turnip.
This is why the exodus will accelerate; they understand this. Another fine mess……..
Time for the Council to pass a law requiring people and firms who do business in Chicago to actually live in the city. Or if they do beyond a certain $ amount of business in the city, be subject to all applicable city taxes. Yeah, that ‘ol tax nexus thingy . . .
There’s something that the Zerohedge post does not touch on that should be kept in mind. Ultimately, the teachers’ strike will be settled. When it is it will be used by the police officers, firefighters, etc. as an argument for their own raises. Both the police and fire contracts are overdue. Don’t expect them to settle for a lower raise than the teachers get.
And all of those raises will be reflected in higher pensions paid later on.